Abstract:

The technological progress achieved as a result of R&D activities has a significant impact on both the amount of output and the unemployment rates. However, there are different approaches to the impact of R&D studies on unemployment. The first of these approaches suggests that process innovation will bring technological unemployment; the other approach accepts that unemployment will be reduced along with product innovation. This study aims to analyze the causal link between R&D spending and unemployment based on the annual data for the 1990-2016 period for the G7 countries using the Kónya (2006) panel bootstrap Granger causal test. Causal test results showed that there is a mutual relationship between R&D spending and unemployment in Germany, France, Italy and Japan. On the other hand, in Canada and in the United States there is a one-way link between R&D spending and unemployment.

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